Amirhadi Arsalanpour Staff writer
Iranian players celebrate a goal in the 2-0 victory over Wales in Group B of the FIFA World Cup in Al Rayyan, Qatar, on November 25, 2022.
Forget about all the tactical aspects of the game. Friday’s victory over Wales was yet another showcase for a prominent trait of Iranian footballers: How good they are in showing character to rise from the ashes of the fiasco.
Iran walked out on the pitch at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium on the back of a 6-2 debacle against England in the World Cup Group B opener, not to mention the buildup to the game had been dominated by the off-field issues regarding the protests in the country.
And just when everyone was convinced by the first-day display that Iran’s quest for a historic spot in the knockout round of the World Cup would be doomed to collapse after two games, the players rose up to the occasion in style.
"Sometimes you lose your dignity, your honor, but of course in our first game we were bleeding in our pride. This was an opportunity to rebound... We played brilliantly and deserved to win," Iran manger Carlos Queiroz said after the game.
Even more thrilling than the 2-0 scoreline – thanks to a stoppage-time drama – was the brave, intense, and spirited performance delivered by the Iranian players – worthy of winning any football match.
Queiroz, meanwhile, once again made his mark on a memorable night for the Iranian football.
For all the criticism he received after the England defeat, the Portuguese tactician deserves all the credit for masterminding a historic triumph – a first victory for Iran over a European opponent in the World Cup finals.
He made a timely U-turn on his ill-fated 5-4-1 formation against a formidable English frontline to field a more suited back four, which kept Gareth Bale and co. thoroughly at bay.
The significant change, however, came in the way Iran went about the contest as Queiroz’s men started right on the front foot and worked their socks off right until the final whistle was blown.
"We talk about the players, their goals. I don't have words to congratulate my players, they were brilliant," a modest Queiroz added.
"We played with amazing character, which is the profile of our team usually. We always play with a sense of unity, cohesion, always. Today we made it very clear football is a game of different moments."
For the Wales game, the manager, to everyone’s surprise, kept three of the backline – Milad Mohammadi, Morteza Pouraliganji, and Majid Hossieni – who were on the receiving end of immense criticism after their disjointed display against England.
The trio excelled while Hossein Hosseini, who conceded all six goals after replacing injured Alireza Beiranvand last Monday, again started between the posts and produced superb saves to deny Kieffer Moore and Ben Davis, helping Iran register only a third clean sheet in six World Cup participations.
Ali Qolizadeh and Sardar Azmoun, meanwhile, added a much-needed flair up front.
The two combined to break the deadlock for Iran in the 15th minute, only to see Qolizadeh’s strike chalked off by VAR for offside, and were unlucky to hit the woodwork in the space of a few seconds after the break.
But perhaps Queiroz’s contribution to Iran’s campaign was most evident in the names on the score sheet.
Had former manager Dragan Skocic been still in charge, as he was until mid-September, Rouzbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian would have probably had to watch the tournament from home.
Two month on and the former came off the bench to unleash a thumping drive for a well-deserved lead in the eighth minute of added time before Rezaeian chipped the keeper to send Iranian supporters at the stadium into a frenzy.
"What we want to do is give this gift to Iranian fans, it's a gift, this was a gift to them – north, south, east, west – a gift to all of them," Queiroz said.
Next for Iran is a highly-anticipated encounter against USA on Tuesday and, should Wales fail to beat England in the simultaneous fixture, a single point will be enough to see Iran go through.
In case you have not noticed yet, the game coincides with the 25th anniversary of the aggregate victory over Australia which sealed a berth for Iran at the 1998 World Cup.
Things may have massively changed in the country since November 29, 1997, but another “show of solidarity”, as Cheshmi described Friday’s victory, may be all Iranian players need to trigger another nationwide celebration.
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